Tyrese Gibson Gushes About One Of His Favorite Actors - Exclusive

The tag line "Celebrities: They're Just Like Us!" has been flogged by publications for so long that it's become something of a punchline, not helped by the fact that life for the Hollywood elite tends to actually be quite different from that of John and Jane Q. Public. Still, despite the fact that our exposure to them is primarily as images on a movie or TV screen, and despite the fact that we definitely don't attend the same parties, the people who portray our favorite characters are, you know, people.

That means they are like us in a lot of ways. They put their high-fashion designer pants on one leg at a time. They struggle with the harsh realities 2020 has brought our way. And, they stan certain actors and entertainers just as much as any fanperson. Case in point: Tyrese Gibson, veteran actor and co-star of the Fast and Furious franchise, who most recently appeared as Bob Booker in Netflix's holiday-themed romp The Christmas Chronicles 2. When we connected with him as part of that film's press day, Gibson took a moment out from discussing his Christmas hijinks to pay tribute to an actor whose work he personally can't get enough of.

For Gibson, there's no getting enough of Jim Carrey. The flexible-faced actor has dipped his toe into everything from screwball comedies to Oscar-bait dramas, and Gibson is totally there for it. The topic came up when Looper pitched him a question about his favorite holiday film, to which he responded, "I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey."

Given the season, we pressed on about the original Grinch cartoon — but Gibson wasn't sharing his love, and noted he's been a Carrey fan from the jump. "I'm a Jim Carrey fan. I go all the way back to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. I just love what he brings to comedy and humor," he said. "I also think he's a great dramatic actor, and I hope he gets more dramatic roles, because they all make a transition at a certain point — [like] Mo'Nique and Jamie Foxx. There are only so many jokes you can crack before you've got to cross over to the other side."

Fans of the various facets of Carrey's career, like Gibson, have had a lot to sink their teeth into lately. The actor took a dramatic turn as a children's TV show host wrestling with emotional issues in the Showtime series Kidding, which wrapped up its second season in early 2020. He also appeared in one of his best-received comedic movie performances in recent memory in this year's Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation. Most recently, Carrey hit the Saturday Night Live stage as Joe Biden, crossing comedic swords with Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump.

Gibson, meanwhile, can currently be seen in The Christmas Chronicles 2, now streaming on Netflix. He'll take the wheel once more in F9 when its pandemic-delayed release occurs in May 2021.